Cane car and the like



July 5 1927.

L. D. GREGG CANE CAR AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 10. 19 .5

. 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

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July 5, 1927 1,634,779 7 L. D. GREGG CANE CAR AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 10, 192.5 2 Sheets-Sheet g ATTOBI-JEY Patented July 5, i927.

: .UNITED STATES PATENTLOFFICE;

LOUIS n. GEEGG, 0E HACKENSAOK, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNoE To TH GREGG COMPANY,

" LIMITED, OF NEWYQRK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CAN can AND THE LIKE.

' Application filed January 10, 1925. Serial No. 1,647.

dischargeside or endof such cars.

.These cars, now/more or less standardized both wood and.insteehcomprisean unders frame which is covered with a. solid or slat flooring and commonly carries, the cane being, usuallyloaded lengthwise of the car, rigidly mounted thereon solid or open-frame end .walls and, in the case of the longer cars, intermediate thereof one or more similar transverse walls dividing the'car into a plurality. of compartments; and, for the side closure, are equipped with stakes removably set into stake-pockets attached usually to both sides of the underframe or, on one or both sides, with some form of side-discharge door pivotally mounted at the top or bottom to swing outwardly about a horizontal longitudinal axis.- i V a As heretofore constructedhowever, the cars have all proven unsatisfactory in some respect at least, In order to carry the amount of cane required for their economical use, the older cars, with the three-foot (more or less): ends and sides ordinarily provided have been loaded high above, the top of the superstructure, which could only be doneby' expensive hand labor.- When the loading is done by mechanicalv derricks or other laborsaving devices, the ends and sidesof the care must be made about twice the usual height, or say six feet. This in itself renders unavailable the discharge door hinged on its lower side,since the height (or width) of the doordoes not permit it toswing down per pendicularly or far enough to'beout of the way of thefalling cane. Moreover, the increased pressure of the load, the cane instead of being hand-laid being in a more'or less jumbled condition when dropped into the cars by the mechanical loaders, is too great eforthe-side stakes supported only at their lower ends in stake-pockets, and hence it has been the practice to further support these taller stakes, at or near their upper ends, by a rigidly mounted horizontal rail. But, while cars equipped with stakes thus sup- .ported and cars equipped with discharge doors pivoted at the top can beunloaded by lifting thecane out from the top or by tipping the ears about thirty degrees to the side, the fixed rail for bracing the stakes or to which the swinging door is hinged renders impossible the use ofeither of the two forms of convenient mechanical rakeswhich have been developed for the purpose of raking the cane from the cars. i

As one meansfor remedying this defect have provided for the closure ofthe discharge side; or end of the car doors which are lunged to the fixed walls to swing thereon-abouta verticalaxis and which when re: leased will, open up the entlre side or end without leaving any obstruction whatever above the flooring.

Accordlng to my p tainthe same end by providing as an ele- I ment of the closure onthe discharge side of the car, either to support the usual stakes, or chains, or to lock in closed position the new vertically pivoted doors described and claimed in application Serial No-1,646, filed by me of even date herewith, a rigid horizontal bar which at, its ends is releaseably mounted upon the fixed walls. 'In. its simplest form, the bar maybe removable and merelysecured in position, at the height ,deerred,: in suitable keepers attached to the corner stakes of the walls, It is usually desirable, however, to have the'bar attached to the car. Accordingly, means have been provided for movablyf mounting it upon the walls so that when released fromits operative positionrthe bar will swing or drop downwardly against or below the underframe; and, as an additional feature, looking means are provided for securing the bar in position whereby both of its ends may be released simultaneously Several practical embodiments of the invention are shown, by way of illustration and not of hmltatlon, 1n the-accompanying.

drawings, in which-- Figure 1, is aview, in sideelevation, of a carequippedwith stakes supported at the top by a removable horizontal bar; Figs. 2 and 8 are views, in side and end elevation resent invention, 1 at} ion respectively, ofa corner portion of a car,

showing the horizontal bar mounted upon the corner stake and releaseably locked. in

position thereon; Figs. 4 and 5 are views,

similarto Figs. 2 .andB, of a modification; and Figshfi and 7 are vlews, in side and partialend elevationrespectively, of a car equipped with side closing chains supported ,attheiop by the horizontal bar, showing other means for releasably locking the bar in. position on the corner stakes flsielierring to the drawings, .11 is the underlraine oil the car, ll ll are the steel channel corner stakes oi its end walls, which are usually closed by a sheathing o'l planks or of steel plate, and C C are the stakes which are set into the releasing staliepockets 1 1, ol the well-known or of any suitable type.

its shown in Fig. 1, the side closure of the car is completed by the horizontal bar D, a rigid bar of wood or metal, which is held in position near the top ol" the wall by the lteepenplates L 3 2 on the corner stakes. For discha 'ng the load from the car, the lower ends t the stakes are lirst released from the pockets, the stakes being thrown out and dropping, and then the bar is removed, after which the cane can be raked oil.

In the term illustrated in Figs. 2- and 3, the steel channel bar I) pivotally 1nountcdat each end upon a corner stake B by ineansoi a linlebar I which at one end is pivoted, at -l, to the outer flange of the stake and at the other end is secured upon the latch-rod 6, between a bearing-block 5 set in the end of the bar, and the latch 8. The latch-rod, which extends the entire length of the bar, is journalcd in the two ends, and preferably in one or two intermediate, bearing-blocks and atone or both of its outer ends is extended and bent at a right angle to provide a lever-arm 7. Thus, when the bar is swung upward against the corner stakes, each of the latches 8 will engage a lug 9 carried by the outer flange of each corner stake and so lock the bar in position. A turn of the lever 7 serves to raise both latches simultaneously, thereby releasing the bar and allowing it to swing out and down below the underlrame.

In the modification shown in Figs. #1 and i; the bar D is attached to the car at each cudby a chain 3 tired at its ends respectively to the. latch-rod (3 carried by the bar and to an eyebolt i on'a corner stake. It is supported in position by brackets 10 fixed one to each corner stake and, as before, is lochcd to lugs 9 on the corner stakes by latches 8 tired to swing together on the ends of the latch-rod.

As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 the bar D is a length of pipe and the chains C G which are here used in place of stakes as the vertical elements of the closure, are fixed both to the under-frame and to the bar:- for example, as shown. by eyc-bolts 11, 11

set in the sill of the undertrame and by eyebolts 12, 12 passed through the walls of the bar. l he bar is attached to the car at its tw ends by chains 18, 13 each fixed to the bar by an eye-bolt 14; and to a corner stake by an eye-bolt 15 set in an angle-plate 16 carried on the back of the plate; and, supported upon brackets 17, 17 respectively tired to a flange of each corner stake, is there locked in place by latches 18, 18 each of which is lixed to an end of the bar, as by passing its shank through and welding it to the walls oi." the bar, to extend rearwardly and at. a downward angle through an opening it) in the web of the corner stake and to engage the web below the opening, and is in turn locked in such. engagement by a bent channel 20, with opening 21 in its web to admit the head of the latch, pivoted between the lugs oil a hinge-block 22 carried by the stake. To release the bar, for the unloading of the car, the locking channel at one end of the a is swung back from the top of the latch which, due to the outward pressure and the obtuse angle at which its taco is set with respect to its shank, will spring up a little and enough to engage the web of the channel and hold it out of locking position, as indicated in dotted lines in llig. T. The locking channel is then swung back from the head ol the latch at the other end 01 the car, and both latches, being new unlocked, will release the bar and allow it to tall. The chains by which the bar is attached to the car not only permit it to drop below the level of the underfranie but also, due to the point at which they are attached to the ends of the car, cause it to swing back from theside and so out of the way of the falling load.

The invention can be further modified in its several details, within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an open-top vehicle of the character described, the combination with an underframe and two spaced walls of a discharge side closure which comprises a bar and means for releasably securing the bar in horizontal position to the walls above the underlranie, the said bar being movable when released to clear the side of the vehicle.

111 a vehicle of the character described, the combination with an under-frame and two spaced walls of a discharge closure which comprises a bar extending horizontally from wall to wall and attached thereto at a point and by means permitting it to move up and down thereon, means for releasably securing the bar in position on the walls near the top thereof, and a plurality of vertical elements supported at their lower ends on the under-frame and at their upper ends by the bar.

3. In a vehicle of the character described, the combination with an undertrame and two spaced walls of a discharge closure which comprises a plurality of stakes, means for releasably securing the lower ends of the stakes to the side of the uinilertrame, and for the support of the upper ends of the stakes a bar extending horizontally from wall to ion lltl

Wall and releasably secured thereto and when released movable downward to the level of the underframe.

4. In a vehicle of the character described, the combination with underframe and two spaced walls of a discharge closure which comprises as an element thereof a bar extending horizontally from wall to Wall and attached thereto at a pointand by means permitting it to move upward to the top of the walls and downward below the walls and underframe and back thereunder, and means for releasably locking the bar to the walls near the top thereof.

5. In a vehicle of the character described, the combination with underframe and two spaced walls of a discharge closure which comprises a bar extending horizontally from Wall to wall and supported near the top'thereof on fixed supports, and as means forsecuring each end of the bar inplace upon asupport a latch which at its shank is fixed to the bar to extend rearwardly and downwardly therefrom and has a face setat an obtuse angle to its shank, adapted to' engage, and be locked to, a fixed catch member carried by the Wall.

. c LOUIS D. GREGG. 

